


Gentleman Janeway

by Miri Cleo (miri_cleo)



Category: Gentleman Jack, Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Barely Janeway Seven, F/F, Historical Dress, Historical Roleplay, Holodeck hijinks, Holodecks/Holosuites, I guess this is technically a crossover, If You Squint - Freeform, Pining, Unrequited Love, Why do holodecks make everything so difficult?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 16:24:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19299409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miri_cleo/pseuds/Miri%20Cleo
Summary: And finally, Kathryn took the black tophat, fingering the silk petersam rim before placing it atop her head. Her lips curled into a bright smile, and she bowed to her reflection





	Gentleman Janeway

**Author's Note:**

> @captaincrusher created a tumblr post, and the rest is history.

The laces were rough under Kathryn's fingertips as she tied first one of the heavy boots tight and then the other. It had taken her time to get used to doing it, but now the motions soothed her. Over under and loop and around and through and tighten then knot the loops again. She liked the way her fingers had been clumsy at first and then learned as if of their own accord. It was the kind of motion she could imagine her father enjoying as well. 

She stood, smoothing the black skirt and black bodice. The stiff ribbing would have been made of whale bone. She had seen one once--ancient scrimshaw on Admiral Paris's desk. Kathryn looked at herself in the mirror. The tight curls that framed her face had seemed ridiculous the first time she wore them. Now, they seemed fitting. Her reflection was severe, formal but functional all the same, as if she were still in uniform. But she understood that this had been a uniform of a sort, and it had come to define its wearer. 

The long coat lay across the back of a chair, and Kathryn shrugged it on, popping the tails. And finally, Kathryn took the black tophat, fingering the silk petersam rim before placing it atop her head. Her lips curled into a bright smile, and she bowed to her reflection. Then she was off, walking briskly and taking a deep breath of the country air once she was out of the house. It smelled like freshly tilled earth and manure, hay and honeysuckle--not quite like home but something of a cousin to it. 

As she walked, her feet trodding a well worn path, Kathryn wondered what Anne Lister would think of her. Kathryn helmed her own ship in a time when all people were equal, regardless of the way they were born. Would she be amazed. Relieved? Would she think it silly that Kathryn stole what little free time she had to lose herself here. But surely, Kathryn thought, Anne--for she had come to think of her as simply Anne--would understand the loneliness she felt. 

Kathryn twirled her cane as she hurried up the steps to Crow Nest. She passed it and the top hat off to the manservant and hurried into the drawing room before he could manage to get there to announce her. And there, prim on the settee in the glow of a sunray, sat Ann. She looked up from her sketchbook and a radiant smile lit her face. 

"You've come back at last."

Kathryn grinned as she flopped onto the settee beside Ann. She propped herself on one elbow in order to gaze up into Ann's eyes. "Indeed I have. I've had the most interesting travels. You'd scarcely believe the things I've seen." And Kathryn didn't doubt Ann would scarcely believe how they hurtled through the stars so far from anything she had ever known. 

Ann put her sketching aside and folded her hands in her lap. "I can't imagine why you'd want to come back to Halifax."

Kathryn sat up again and gently took Ann's hands. She rubbed her thumbs over the back of them and her body thrilled at the feel of Ann's skin. Was she really so starved for touch? Yes, she supposed she was. And yet, this sufficed. It would have to suffice. 

"Must I really tell you?" Her voice was quiet, husky with tenderness. She watched the color rise in Ann's cheeks, and as charming as that was, she found her mind drifting. Seven would have scarcely let her get even to this point, the beginning of the seduction. But it wasn't Seven she could seduce. And yet, hadn't that been in the back of her mind when she created this program? Seven, isolated in her alcove and in a wide sphere of logic and protocol like Ann in her big house, shying away from human tenderness. 

"Surely you cannot mean to suggest that you'd come back just for me. There are so many things here that need your attention. Your estate and the coal…"

Kathryn leaned closer to Ann, to this projection of light with warm breath and sweet smelling skin. This escape from her own isolation could not last. The spell was already breaking. "My dear girl, there is nothing I care to see half so much as your fair face."

The silence between them was full, and when their lips met, Kathryn cupped Ann's cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into Ann's embrace. Even then, the cloak of her duty did not fall away. Her heart racing, her core tight with desire, Kathryn stopped her imagination just on the cusp of picturing Seven in her arms. 

"Why do you look so troubled, my love?" Ann asked breathlessly when they pulled apart. 

Kathryn closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Computer, pause program."

The subtle sounds of birdsong outside went mute. Ann sat poised for an answer, and even the dust motes dancing in the sunshine were paralyzed mid-flight. Kathryn sighed. She was so far away from home, from all the things she knew, and yet even here, she could not lose herself. Outside of the stillness around her, Voyager hurtled through space, making its arduous journey home. She would always feel the weight of that responsibility corseting her.

"Advance timeframe--evening, Shibden Hall."

Around her, Crow Nest shimmered away to be replaced by the soft light in what she realized was Aunt Anne's bedroom. Kathryn was sitting on the counterpane with the old woman, still, beside her. She smiled as she bid the computer to resume. 

"I suppose you've been at Miss Lister's again."

"I have." Kathryn smoothed the covers over Aunt Anne's lap. 

"You like her very much." It was not a question, but Kathryn nodded her assent anyway. "Do you love her?"

Lister had--or at least, Kathryn chose to believe that. But she wasn't thinking of Ann Walker when she answered. "I could."

A weight lifted off of her chest, but the relief was slight. She had never dared acknowledge this, even in her most private moments. Yes, she could love Seven--infuriating, analytical, superior Seven. And that acknowledgement meant, at least, that she could control her feelings. They would not suddenly appear and threaten to overwhelm her. She could control them because she had to, because she shielded herself with duty the way Lister shielded herself in masculine clothing. 

The sound of Seven's voice cut through her thoughts and the illusion surrounding her, toneless yet somehow still demanding her presence in astrometrics. Kathryn acknowledged before kissing Aunt Anne on the cheek. She closed the door of Lister's bedroom behind her and took her time undressing, savoring the ritual before donning her uniform. She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled on one standard Starfleet issue boot and then another. Her reflection in the mirror told her there was no more time to get away today. And had she really gotten away in the first place?

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know why I’m categorically incapable of letting Janeway be happy. Thanks for reading! You can find me on tumblr @miricleo.


End file.
